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The SUSD Governing Board heard an update on “concierge service” for families of Pima and Echo Canyon schools, soon to close. (YouTube)

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Superintendent Scott Menzel started discussions on closing two more schools, with decisions to be made by October. (YouTube)

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At least six SUSD schools are on the “Phase Two” list for potential closures. (SUSD)

SUSD may close two more schools

By Tom Scanlon

Progress Managing Editor

“How do we reduce our footprint by two?”

That question suggests it could be a long, angst-filled year, for many Scottsdale students and families.

In December, the Scottsdale Unified School District Governing Board voted to close two schools – ending months of meetings highlighted by parents and students begging in vain not to close Pima and Echo Canyon elementary schools.

Now, at the first board meeting of 2026, Superintendent Scott Menzel pondered – on several occasions – “what are our options to reduce our footprint by two?”

That’s a euphemism for closing two more schools.

This process will be even longer than the Pima-Echo Canyon one, as Menzel ultimately will ask the board to choose from a list of multiple schools on the “Phase 2” list.

In November, Menzel revealed six schools on his “proposed implementation of restructuring in 2027-28” list:

  • Anasazi K-5 (407 students);

  • Copper Ridge K-8 (440 students);

  • Laguna K-5 (302 students);

  • Redfield K-5 (376 students);

  • Tonalea Middle 6-8 (364 students);

  • Yavapai K-5 (345 students).

Though it was not on Menzel’s previous list, Cheyenne Traditional School also has the dubious honor of “making the list” of schools that may be closed/repurposed.

“We need to reduce our footprint by at least two more buildings,” Menzel reiterated.

A long road is ahead before a decision is made in the fall, the superintendent stressed.

“It’s going to be an extensive number of conversations between now and the time that we expect the board will ultimately have to make a decision – which is in October,” Menzel said.

“So this is just the beginning of the journey. No final decisions have been made – we are open to suggestions from the community.”

Menzel hinted at a possible merger of two schools.

“We started before the (holiday) break holding meetings with families and staff, first at Copper Ridge, then at Cheyenne,” Menzel told the board.

“We started those conversations … in part because of the questions that had been raised and also the conversation around the potential of one campus moving to another.

“We also scheduled meetings with the other Phase Two schools throughout the month of January,” Menzel added.

The board also considered a motion made by Carine Werner – on a subject authored by Amy Carney – “to establish a Planning and Boundary Design Advisory Committee to serve in an advisory capacity to the Governing Board on matters related to school attendance areas and long-range planning.”

According to the agenda, the purpose of the committee includes  “review demographic, enrollment, and facility data; conduct public meetings or hearings to gather community input; provide recommendations to the Governing Board regarding proposed changes to school attendance boundaries; offer long-range planning recommendations related to future school sites and the formation of proposed attendance areas.”

Carney said she has been trying to form this committee for months.

“This committee should have been formed long ago,” she complained.

Carney stressed she wants to give the opportunity for more people to be involved in planning.

“Instead of being reactive I’m looking for ways to be proactive and avoid what just happened,” Carney said, referring to the Pima and Echo Canyon planned closures.

“It’s not obvious to me that we did anything that needs to be fixed,” Matt Pittinsky pushed back.

Pittinsky, Mike Sharkey and Donna Lewis voted against the formation of a Planning and Boundary Design Advisory Committee.

Phase I

On Dec. 9, by a 3-2 vote (Lewis, Sharkey, Pittinsky, for; Carney, Werner against –  the SUSD board voted to close/repurpose Pima and Echo Canyon schools at the end of this school year.

With other potential closures looming, there is still plenty of work to be done on the first phase of Menzel’s plan.

The board likely will decide what to do with the soon-to-be-empty buildings. Pima and Echo Canyon are 4 miles apart, with booming Old Town smack between them.

“Our ultimate goal,” Menzel said, “is to bring the recommendations for repurposing of Pima and Echo to the board by the March 10 meeting.”

Before then, a committee will meet to come up with new options for school boundaries – which plays into transportation, a big factor for families choosing schools, board members noted.

After the committee posts map options in mid-January, a public meeting on the matter will be held Feb. 2.

The board will not make any decisions at the Feb. 2 public hearing.  A vote on the attendance areas is scheduled for Feb. 10.

Lea Mitchell, the district’s assistant superintendent of Educational Services, updated the board on “concierge services” offered to families and staff at Pima and Echo Canyon.

Nearly half of the soon-to-be-displaced students have chosen new schools in the district, she said.

“Of our 266 Echo students that we’re working on right now,” she said, “we have 115 that have already made decisions for next year and are fully enrolled or in the queue, meaning … they’ll be fully enrolled tomorrow morning. That’s 43% of Echo Canyon.

“We have 101 Pima families that have made decisions,” Mitchell continued. “That’s 41%. So while there are many Pima families who’ve expressed a desire for boundary decisions to drive their decision, we also have a large number that have already made decisions.”

Her presentation was upbeat, despite the looming closures:

“We have kids that are excited and already asking for T-shirts from their new schools, and we’re just really committed to working with each student and each family.”

Cheyenne status

One option SUSD Superintendent Scott Menzel is considering for a second phase of school closures is a complex shuffling of students and schools.

As a list was not provided before last week’s board meeting, Kristine Harrington, a district spokeswoman, was asked if Menzel’s “Phase II” list unveiled in November was still accurate.

“At this time, the focus is on Phase Two schools, which includes those near or below 400 students: Anasazi, Copper Ridge, Laguna, Redfield, Tonalea and Yavapai.”

So how did how did Cheyenne Traditional School become involved in Menzel’s discussion?

“While Cheyenne is not a Phase II school and continues to have a

waitlist due to strong enrollment demand, Superintendent Dr. Menzel also met with Cheyenne because of its potential role in future planning discussions,” Harrington said.

“As part of Phase II repurposing conversations, the district has discussed the possibility of combining two Phase II schools into the Cheyenne campus, while relocating Cheyenne students to a larger campus better suited to accommodate the high level of interest in attending Cheyenne.”

As far as Menzel meetings at Cheyenne and Copper Ridge, Harrington noted, “These conversations are exploratory and part of a broader effort to plan responsibly for enrollment trends, facility use, and long-term sustainability.

“No decisions have been made,” she stressed. “We remain committed to engaging with school communities throughout the process.”